US meat industry addresses antibiotic concerns

A coalition of 20 organisations, related to animal agriculture including various pork associations has sent a letter regarding the on-farm use of low-level antibiotics in livestock and poultry to Melody Barnes, assistant to President Obama for domestic policy.

The letter was prepared in response to challenges to the use of antimicrobials in US animal production by several groups that claim it is a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance in humans.

The coalition also wrote that arguments against the use of antibiotics in livestock and poultry, including that such use contributes to an increase in human resistance, are not supported by any conclusive scientific evidence.

This letter provides the administration with some substantiated data and requests continued, open dialogue with FDA officials on this critical issue.

In the key conclusion of the letter it states that “When all is said and done, US farmers and ranchers – and most consumers – are more confident knowing animal health care, assistance and advice are provided by veterinarians and animal scientists, not by PhD issue advocates or animal rights activists.”

“Since his inauguration, President Obama's repeated pledge to base his Administration's regulatory decisions on “the best available science” and “the rule of law” gives us confidence the Administration will not embrace an ill-advised, politically motivated call to curb on-farm uses of antibiotics.”